Representative Peter Joseph Wagner

Peter Joseph Wagner (August 14, 1795 – September 13, 1884) was a U.S. Representative from New York and a lawyer, agriculturalist, and banker whose professional life was closely tied to the Mohawk Valley region. He was born at Wagners Hollow in the town of Palatine, Montgomery County, New York, on August 14, 1795. In 1805 he moved with his parents to Fort Plain, New York, a developing community along the Erie Canal corridor that would remain his home for the rest of his life. He completed preparatory studies in the local schools, laying the foundation for advanced academic work at a time when formal education beyond the basics was still relatively uncommon in rural New York.

Wagner pursued further education at Fairfield Academy in Herkimer County, New York, which he attended in 1810 and 1811. The academy was one of the notable secondary institutions in the region and prepared students for professional careers and college study. He subsequently enrolled at Union College in Schenectady, New York, one of the leading higher-education institutions in the state, and was graduated in 1816. His education at Union College placed him among the educated professional class of early nineteenth-century New York and prepared him for admission to the bar.

After college, Wagner studied law and completed the requirements for legal practice in New York. He was admitted to the bar in September 1819 and commenced the practice of law at Fort Plain. Over the ensuing decades he developed a substantial legal practice, serving the needs of a growing community in a period marked by the expansion of commerce and transportation in the Mohawk Valley. In addition to his legal work, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, reflecting the agrarian character of the region, and became involved in banking, activities that connected him to the economic development of his locality and county.

Wagner’s interest in public affairs led him into politics as the Second Party System took shape in New York and across the nation. He became associated with the Whig Party, which drew support from commercial, professional, and many rural interests in upstate New York. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress, an early indication of his standing in regional politics and his ambition for national office. Despite this initial defeat, he remained active in public life and party affairs.

Wagner was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress and served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1841. During his tenure in Congress he represented a New York district during a period of intense national debate over economic policy, internal improvements, and the aftermath of the Panic of 1837. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War in the Twenty-sixth Congress, a position that placed him in a key oversight role with respect to federal military spending and administrative accountability. His committee work reflected the Whig emphasis on legislative supervision of the executive branch and careful management of public funds.

After leaving Congress at the close of his term in 1841, Wagner returned to Fort Plain and resumed his legal practice. He continued to practice law there for more than three decades, maintaining his role as a prominent attorney in Montgomery County. Alongside his legal work, he remained engaged in agriculture and banking, contributing to the economic life of his community during a period that saw the continued growth of the canal system, the rise of railroads, and the transformation of upstate New York’s economy. He practiced law actively until May 1873, when he retired from professional life.

In retirement, Wagner continued to reside in Fort Plain, where he had lived since childhood and where he was regarded as one of the longstanding figures of the community. He died at Fort Plain, New York, on September 13, 1884, at the age of eighty-nine. He was interred in Fort Plain Cemetery, joining many of the region’s early settlers and civic leaders. His long life spanned from the early years of the American republic through the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century, and his career reflected the intertwined development of law, politics, agriculture, and finance in rural New York.